


We Should Take Down That Fence

by marvelousmsmol



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Needs a Hug, Adrien uses a walking stick, Adrinette | Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Bad Parent Gabriel Agreste, F/M, Fencing Club AU, Fluff and Angst, Minor Alya Cesaire/Kagami Tsurugi, Minor Injuries, Minor Luka Couffaine/Nino Lahiffe, marinette is the new student, marinette wakes up and chooses violence every day
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-18 17:48:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29247534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marvelousmsmol/pseuds/marvelousmsmol
Summary: Adrien Agreste has a problem. The fencing club he's been running since his first year is in danger of being shut down by the school board, and unless someone can win the national competition this year, then he'll have to say goodbye to it for good. With he himself not up to the task, injured over summer break, and having to use a walking stick while he completely heals and no one else in the club up to the task, they'll have to find someone new to stand-in.Marinette Dupain Cheng has just moved back to Paris after living with her family in China since elementary school. Even though she has a knack for getting in trouble, Marinette has a great fighting spirit, and Adrien sees her as the perfect candidate to take on the task.Adrien and Marinette will discover that they have more of a connection than as just teammates, and maybe even as more than just friends.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 34
Kudos: 60





	1. Prologue

In her pink-spotted rain galoshes, Marinette stood on the steps of the elementary school, still not quite ready to leave. But her parents would be expecting her home soon, and there was still packing to be done. The heavy chest filled with her favorite toys still needed to be consolidated into different cardboard boxes and all of her coloring books, and crayons, and colored pencils were still strewn about the room. They were moving tomorrow, and Marinette wasn’t even close to being ready to go. 

She had said goodbye to all of her friends today, brought cookies that her father had made, and shared them with the class. She had even found the heart to give one to Chloe. It was a small token of forgiveness to the girl who had stuck gum in her hair and was partly responsible for the ghastly bowl cut that made her look like a boy. 

Marinette felt almost ready to go at this point, to finally say goodbye to her old school and head home, but the rain was pouring now and she was only protected from being completely soaked by standing under the awning. It had only been sprinkling this morning, and though her mother had forced her to wear her rain boots, Marinette had deliberately neglected to bring her umbrella so she could get her hair wet and splash in the puddles on her way to school. She was regretting it now. Being slightly damp was one thing, but having to walk home with wet jeans sticking to her legs the entire way was very different. 

Marinette would have to run.

Steeling herself, she started down the steps to the school, though her speed was too irresponsible. No more than halfway down to the sidewalk, she slipped, tumbling down the remaining steps and falling flat on her butt. Her hand had helped stop her, but her wrist was bent at an uncomfortable angle and was throbbing in pain. She clutched it tightly to her chest as she sat on the ground, not even five feet from where she had started and already soaked to the skin. 

She sniffled, eyes stinging in pain as she tried to hold back her tears. Marinette just wanted to be back home wearing warm clothes. Even if that did mean she had to pack up all of her things. 

The sound of footsteps smacking against the wet concrete got closer, and as Marinette looked down at the ground, a pair of bright orange sneakers appeared in her vision. The rain above stopped hitting her hand, and she looked up to see a large black umbrella covering her. 

“Are you okay?” The owner of the orange sneakers asked, and Marinette turned her head slightly to look at him. He was blond and she instantly recognized the uniform he was wearing was from the private school down the road. His eyes were filled with concern. Marinette, unsure of what else to do, shook her head frantically. The boy held out his hand. “Here, let me help you up.”

Marinette began to reach out with her injured hand but quickly pulled back. She felt slightly embarrassed at the thought that he had just seen her slip and fall in such a clumsy fashion. 

“The more you sit here the colder and wetter you’re going to get,” He said, grabbing her other hand and pulling her up to her feet. 

Now that she was standing, he had to hold the umbrella higher over his head. Marinette was a couple of inches taller than he was, but she was taller than most of the boys in her year, having gotten an early growth spurt at the age of eight. 

“Are you going to be okay?” He asked. Marinette nodded in response. Down the street, a car horn honked and his eyes went wide in panic. The boy quickly grabbed Marinette’s good hand and shoved the umbrella into it. “Here, you can have this. It’ll be easier for me to run without it anyway.” 

Before she could even say a word or become capable of speaking again, he took off down the sidewalk, running as fast as his short legs could carry him. Water splashed up around his feet, soaking his shoes and pant legs. Marinette stood there with the boy’s umbrella protecting her from the rain, and watched as he turned the corner and headed off down another street. The car followed him, turning its blinker on and rounding the corner as well. 

Marinette could head home safely now. The pain in her wrist was subsiding and she wouldn’t get any more soaked than she already was. And yet, even though her home was in the complete opposite direction, something possessed her to take off running in the direction of the boy. 

Would it even be possible to catch up with him? Or, maybe the car had already snatched him up? Even if it was utterly pointless, Marinette kept running, hindered only by the umbrella being pushed back by the wind. She was in danger of falling again a few other times, but Marinette kept pushing onward. 

A few minutes later, she stood in front of the entrance to a small park. Trees lined the perimeter, and the pointed metal fence outside made it seem, in her eyes, like a magical forest. 

Marinette heard the sound of tires behind her and turned to see the sleek black car that had been following the boy slowly pull past. The car seemed to be making another turn around the block. Curious, Marinette peered into the park, wondering if the boy had made his escape into there. Following a hunch, she walked through the gated entrance and made her way down the muddy path. 

In here, the branches of the trees covered most of the sky, and the rain fell at a much more gentle pace. Marinette continued her walk, looking between the trees and bushes for any sign of the blond boy. She halted suddenly, seeing on the path in front of her, a lone orange sneaker. It was covered in mud, and there were a few fading footprints surrounding it. Marinette bent down and picked up the shoe. She looked all around her, hoping to see the boy somewhere nearby. 

Marinette continued down the path at a run now. As she got closer to the other end of the park, the sound of shouting voices was becoming more and more clear. She could see a group of boys wearing the same uniform as the boy who had given her the umbrella. Marinette approached cautiously and could see him, wearing one orange sneaker, standing in the middle of the group. 

“Come on, are you done running now?” one of the bullies asked. Umbrella boy was slowly backing away from the others, but the bully came right up and grabbed him by the collar. “You’re going to pay for getting me in trouble.” 

Marinette could clearly see the fear in the boy’s eyes as the circle of bullies closed tighter around him. She didn’t know what to do. If she tried to step in, she didn’t think it would help. Besides, then it would be her against five others. 

“Everyone keeps giving you special treatment. Just looking you in the eye is enough to make you start crying.” The bully said. He suddenly let go of the boy’s shirt collar and pushed him to the ground. “I guess a mama’s boy without his mom is just a scared loser-”

The bully had barely even finished his sentence when the boy jumped up to his feet and ran towards him with a loud, painful cry of anger. Marinette watched in horror as the bully jumped out of the way before he was tackled and another of the kids punched the boy in the stomach, sending him down, sprawled in the mud once again. The bully lifted his foot, getting ready to kick the boy on the head.

Marinette was moving before she even realized it, dropping the sneaker to the ground and closing the black umbrella. She charged into the middle of the circle with it raised above her head and sent it careening down on the back of the bully’s head just before his foot made contact with the boy’s skull. 

She wasn’t even really sure of what she was doing, just swinging the umbrella around widely as she shouted for them to leave the boy alone. Two had already run off when Marinette had struck the first blow, but the main bully stuck around even as the others abandoned him. He tried to grab at the umbrella. Marinette knew that if he got his hands on it, it would be over for her. This boy was twice as big and probably twice as strong as she was. She’d be beaten to a pulp along with the other boy, who was sitting upon the ground, watching the scene play out before him. 

Holding the umbrella out in front of her more like a sword, Marinette jabbed the bully in the chest just before he could grab onto it. He let out a grunt of pain, stumbling backward. With one last hit on his head, he fell completely to the ground, dazed. He clutched his head, standing to his feet, shaking. Marinette still held the umbrella up like a baseball bat, ready if he tried to charge at her again. Her eyebrows were knit tightly together, anger blazing within her. She had never felt this angry before and didn’t understand where it had come from, but hearing the boys say those things, and hurt the kid who had been so nice to her had just made her… snap. 

The bully made eye contact with her, and, seeing the fire in her eyes, slowly started backing away, holding his hands up in surrender. All of the sudden, he turned and started running in the opposite direction. 

Marinette became aware of how heavily she was breathing and dropped the umbrella to the ground. Silently, she walked back to where she had dropped the sneaker and picked it up, wiping some of the dirt off with her hands. The boy was still sitting on the ground, his pants now completely covered with mud. She walked over, holding the shoe out to him as an offering. He didn’t move.

“Wow…” he said in awe. “That was amazing!” 

A smile appearing on his face, he took his shoe from her and pulled it back on his foot. The boy stood to his feet and tried to get some of the mud off of him. 

“I can’t believe you did that,” he said, still trying to fix the rest of his clothes. “Most of the others at school won’t even look those guys in the eyes, but you… You’re amazing.”  
Marinette bit her lip and, though hesitating as she opened her mouth, spoke in a soft voice. “They are jerks.” 

The boy looked at her as though he was surprised she had spoken. “Yeah. Yeah, they are jerks, huh?” 

Marinette watched the boy curiously. He was smiling brightly now when just a few seconds ago he had almost been beaten up by those other kids. He should still be angry, shouldn’t he? But, here he was, as happy as could be. 

“I’m Adrien, by the way,” he said, holding his hand out to her. Marinette took his hand almost cautiously and shook it. Adrien smiled at her with kind eyes. “What’s your name?”   


“Adrien!” 

Just as quickly as it had appeared, the smile on his face was gone, his eyes once again filled with fear. Marinette looked past Adrien as he slowly turned around. There were two men standing at the edge of the trail now. 

The taller of the two stalked over to them. Marinette could feel that she was supposed to be afraid of this man too and cowered as he approached, stepping away from Adrien. 

“What happened to your clothes?” the man asked in a harsh voice. “You look appalling. Come, we are going home and we’ll talk about you evading your bodyguard  _ again _ when we get there.” 

The man walked off just as quickly as he had come, not even waiting for Adrien to follow before heading back to the park’s entrance. The other man, large, beefy, and just as intimidating as the first, stood there waiting. Adrien’s eyes were downcast as he walked over to join him. The man held out his hand to the small boy and Adrien reluctantly took it. 

As he was being led away, Adrien turned back and looked at Marinette, waving goodbye, and Marinette stood in silence watching him leave.

“Bye!” Adrien shouted, a ghost of a smile on his face again. “I hope we meet again someday!” 


	2. One

The principal’s office was on the second floor. As soon as she walked out the door, Marinette looked out over the courtyard below, taking in the sights of her new school. She hadn’t really paid attention to anything going on when she had walked in this morning, making a beeline to pick up her class schedule a map of the classrooms before anything else. Marinette was prone to get lost easily, and that was not something she wanted to do on her first day. 

Being back in Paris wasn’t exactly the homecoming she had imagined. None of her friends she had gone to elementary school with were around anymore, either having moved away themselves, attending different lycees, or Marinette had simply fallen out of touch with them and had no clue where they were. This time, she was starting fresh, without even her cousins to give her a foot in the door to making friends. 

Marinette already felt out of place amongst the rest of the students. Her parents had known they would be moving back to France from China eventually and had been saving up to send her to one of the best schools in the city. Private school, unfortunately, was not something she was used to, and it felt like a whole different game than the places she had attended before. Though she was no stranger to wearing a uniform, she had been counting on the return to self-expression in her school clothes that her school in China had not allowed her. Now, Marinette was stuck wearing a plain black skirt and short-sleeved, white button-up. At least the tie was cute. 

There was still some time before she had to go to class. She felt awkward just standing there, waiting for the bell to ring, so she decided that her best option might be to go and try to get the lay of the land even just a little. As Marinette walked down the steps into the courtyard, it was clear that all the students already had their own little groups, excitedly talking with one another and saying hello again after summer break. She was unknown and quite certain that no one would come to greet her. And, she wasn’t sure she was ready for anyone to do so just yet. 

Not wanting to look lonely, Marinette walked over to the bulletin board posted on the wall, taking a look at all the different flyers. Most of them were for school clubs. Marinette had been told that she would need to pick an extracurricular activity to fill the empty period at the end of the day, and while there were certainly many options, she wasn’t sure which ones she might enjoy the most. There was no fashion or sewing club, which seemed astonishing to her. How could she be back in Paris and there not be enough interest amongst the students to have a fashion club at her school? 

Even back when she was living in China, her school had a sewing club that students could attend, but that had been learning mostly about historical dress, and not the haute couture or street fashion that Marinette was interested in. 

She didn't have to decide right this minute, but she only had until tomorrow morning to make her choice, and the thought of making the wrong one was stressing her out beyond belief. Marinette wanted to make friends; it was just that it didn’t seem too easy to do so, and if she couldn’t make friends in class, then she needed to make friends in a club. But how could she be sure that the people there were going to be nice and welcome her? 

This should have probably been the least of her worries. She still needed to find her way around and meet her teachers. Marinette could hear her mom telling her to make a list in her head of what was most important right that second, and picking a club ranked dead last. 

“I’ll be okay,” she whispered to herself, taking a deep breath. 

Readjusting her backpack strap on her shoulder, Marinette made her way farther out into the courtyard and took a seat at one of the empty picnic tables. She pulled out her phone and opened up the chat app she used to talk to all of her cousins and friends in China. Their group chat was filled with pictures of them at school and cafes together. 

Opening her camera, she awkwardly held up a peace sign and snapped a picture, sending it off to her friends. 

_ Your uniforms are way cuter than ours! _

_ Hope you have fun! _

_ We miss you! _

The messages were all like that. Just happy things, and then they sent pictures of them together at cafes and the movies back. Seeing them smiling  _ did _ warm her heart a little, but mostly Marinette just felt more lonely than before. 

Slumping down in her seat, she closed her eyes for a few moments, listening to the sounds of the courtyard around her. Everyone was talking to someone else. Everyone except for her. 

_ Click! _

Marinette was startled by a new, sudden sound and the bright flash of light. She shot back up in her seat. Her eyes were readjusting to the light and Marinette rubbed them to try and clear her vision. Looking in the direction of where the flash came from, her eyes finally refocused to see another student, lowering a camera from her face. 

“Oops, sorry!” the girl said, wavering nervously. “Sorry if I woke you up there.”

Marinette looked at the smiling girl curiously. She seemed to be around the same age as her and was very engrossed in her camera. Still, there was someone there talking to her. If she was in Marinette’s class, this was a great opportunity for her to make a friend. Marinette put an equally bright smile on her face.

“It’s okay,” Marinette said. “I wasn’t sleeping.”

Looking back up from her camera, the other girl dropped it, letting it hang around her neck by a strap. She held out her hand, assertive and confident. “I’m Alya,” she said. “I’m from the school newspaper. Probably should have said that first. I’m not just going around taking pictures of people randomly.” 

“Marinette,” Marinette answered, trying to take her hand and shake it with just as much confidence as her new acquaintance had. 

“I can delete it, if you want,” Alya said, holding up the camera. 

“Depends, is it embarrassing?” Marinette asked. 

“Let’s see,” Alya muttered under her breath and clicked on the gallery of photos. Marinette’s was the first to come up. She was leaning back against the concrete table, her head was thrown back as she basked in the sun that was streaming down through the opening of the roof. Alya gasped in surprise. “Holy crap. You look like a Renaissance painting.”

“I think that might just be your photography skills,” Marinette giggled nervously. She felt slightly awkward being complimented and was never quite sure how to respond. 

“You’re new here, right?” Alya asked. “I’ve never seen you around before.”

“Uh, yeah,” Marinette said. “First day…”  
“Don’t worry. The people here aren’t that bad.”  
“I can see that,” Marinette said, nodding. 

Alya smiled at her again. Each time she did, Marinette felt a little more relaxed. She was lucky to have just happened upon someone so nice. Currently, Marinette was searching through her brain for topics to keep the conversation going. Alya had already sat down next to her on the bench, clicking through a few more pictures. Marinette bit her lip nervously as she decided just to say the first thing that came to mind.

“So,” Marinette asked, “Is the school newspaper fun?”

Alya squinted her eyes, contemplating the answer. “I guess,” She said with a shrug. “It’s fun except for the upperclassmen who run it without putting in any work.” 

Marinette nodded in understanding. Even as a first-year student, she had done most of the work in the fashion club she had been in at her old school. “Well, then looks like that one’s off my list.”

“Your list?” Alya asked, looking slightly confused. “Ohhh, you probably have to pick an extracurricular, huh? You know, I could probably help you out later, if you want?”

“Really?” Marinette asked. Alya nodded, bringing yet another happy expression to Marinette’s face. “I’d really appreciate that.” 

“You want to see some more pictures I took?” Alya scooted closer to Marinette on the bench and held her camera out between them. 

They were only looking through for a few seconds when the camera was ripped out of Alya’s hands and the strap was harshly pulled off of her neck, tugging her hair with it. Marinette looked up to see an older boy standing in front of them, turning Alya’s camera over in his hands. The smile Marinette had seen Alya wearing since the moment they met faded into an angry expression. Alya stood up from the bench, looking like she was about ready to tear into the boy.

“Aren’t you supposed to be working?” he asked, raising an eyebrow with an accusatory look. 

“You’re the one who’s supposed to be working, but you showed up late,” Alya said. “If you want to start doing your job and taking pictures, that’s fine by me.” 

The sneer on the boy’s face became meaner, and he hald Alya’s camera up and out of reach. “Alright, fine,” he said. “I guess I’ll just be taking this with me.” 

“Hey! That’s my personal camera!” Alya jumped up and down on her feet, trying to get it back, but the boy kept holding it up and out of reach. 

Marinette sat frozen in her seat. Alya was trying her best to get the camera back but to no avail. Sitting silently for much longer wasn’t going to cut it, but Marinette could tell that the boy was at least twice her size and she wouldn’t be able to reach the camera even if she jumped as high as she could. 

Taking a shaky breath, Marinette stood her feet and put a hand on Alya’s shoulder, making her move back and out of the way. She stared up at the tall boy, trying her best to put a mean look on her face. “Give it back, please.” 

“What?” The boy scoffed. He straightened his shoulders, giving him at least another inch of height over Marinette. “What do you think you’re going to do it about it?”

Marinette sucked a deep breath in through her nose.  _ Oh, that’s a very good question. _

_ \--------------------------------- _

Getting anywhere quickly had been a struggle for quite a while now. Adrien always tried to give himself enough time to get to where he needed to go, and had done so this morning for the first day of school. The surprise came when he had been summoned to the student council’s office before first period that morning. Adrien was quite used to using his walking stick by now, but the thought of getting to the room on time to have a meeting and then getting to class on time from there was making him a little nervous. 

The damn stick was annoying sometimes, more annoying than helpful, but Adrien still wasn’t confident about his balance even after getting out of the hospital a month ago. He was recovering quickly, the doctors said, but Adrien still felt the unsteadiness with every step he took. 

When Adrien arrived at the student council room, he tried the door handle, only to find it locked. He let out an exasperated sigh, and reached up with his free hand to knock on the door. “Always making me jump through hoops.” 

Pounding footsteps sounded out from the other side of the hallway and Adrien turned to see Nino racing down the corridor. He stopped right next to Adrien, bending over with his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. “Sorry,” Nino said in between gasping breaths. “I just heard-”

“It’s cool,” Adrien said, tapping the door again with his walking stick. “I haven’t even gotten in yet, so…” 

The door opened abruptly. Luka stood awkwardly in the door frame, his tie partly way undone and few top buttons of his shirt open. Adrien fought the urge to scowl when he saw him. Luka had been a pain in the ass last year for the clubs when he had been vice president of the student council, which would be amplified by his even higher position as president this year. That wasn’t a prediction, that was a fact, as evidenced by the fact that it was only day one and Adrien and Nino had already been asked to come in for a meeting with him. 

“Sorry about that,” Luka said, stepping aside so Adrien and Nino could walk into the room. “I had no idea it was locked.” 

The room was neat and tidy, very much unlike what the place usually was. Adrien didn’t know whether to think it was because it was only the beginning of the year or if Luka’s organizational touch had already swept through the place. 

“Please have a seat,” Luka said, pointing to the chairs that were seated around a small table. Adrien leaned his walking stick against the edge of the chair and lowered himself into it, happy to be off his feet at least for a few minutes. It would certainly make this whole experience much more comfortable. Luka sat down as well, slumping down into the chair with his usual relaxed look on his face. “Sorry to have to call you in so early.”

“It’s not a problem,” Adrien said with a forced smile. 

“Still, it’s only the first day and I hate having to cut to the chase like this,” Luka sighed. “You’ve probably noticed that the school has already cut a few clubs this year, and they’re expecting to have to cut even more next year.”

“Okay, and what does that have to do with us?” Nino asked.

Luka folded his hands in his lap. “The fencing club is on the list of potential clubs to cut,” He said. Adrien grumbled, shifting in his seat uncomfortably. He should have known getting called into this meeting so early would have meant something bad like this. At least Luka didn’t look like he was gloating. “The school feels that the club doesn’t bring enough back for how much money they spend on supplies for you guys. You hardly ever win competitions-”

“We do win competitions,” Nino said. 

“You hardly ever win any big competitions,” Luka corrected. “And even then, it’s only Adrien who makes it to national competitions, and well…”

Adrien stilled as Luka trailed off. He was used to people being touchy about the subject. Rumors had been flying wildly about just how he had gotten injured, so much that the word “injury” was not even brought up. Like now. 

“I’m out of commission for the year,” Adrien said, nodding in understanding. “So, you’re saying if we can’t win regionals or nationals this year… That’s it?”

Luka nodded solemnly. “Again, I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” he said. “I’m sure you can bring it up with the board, but even I couldn’t change their mind. I know the two of you started this when you were first-years, which is a pretty impressive thing, but there’s just not enough interest for a fencing club here.” 

Adrien wanted to open his mouth and keep arguing. Of course, there was enough interest. The club had slowly grown since the first year they started it, more kids had joined, and sure they weren’t amazingly talented, but everyone had fun. 

Nino seemed to notice in which direction Adrien was heading and spoke up before he could. “We understand,” he said. “I guess we’ll try to think of something. Thanks for the heads up, though.”

It was clear that the other two had decided the meeting had ended, and stood up from their seats. It took Adrien another few seconds to get moving though, taking his time getting back on his feet and grabbing his stick again. He was lost in thought, eyes glazed over. Nino grabbed onto the sleeve of his shirt and started walking him towards the exit. 

Luka was headed in the same direction as them, walking a few feet ahead. Nino and Adrien hung back, talking in whispered voices. 

“You okay, man?” Nino asked, looking concerned.

Adrien nodded. “Fine. Fine,” he said. Adrien quirked an eyebrow. “Are you?”

“Oh yeah, of course,” Nino said, shaking his head. “I’ve been waiting for this to be over since you dragged me into this and made me be vice president.” 

“Oh, come on,” Adrien scoffed. “You’ve had fun.”

“Maybe,” Nino said. “But, that’s only because I’ve been hanging out with you every day after school for the past three years. Getting into the sweaty uniform and getting poked with swords has not been fun.”

“Foils,” Adrien corrected him. “Three years and you still can’t call them by their right name.”

“Swords sound cooler,” Nino said. “Girls think it’s cool, telling them we’ve been sword fighting after school.”

Adrien narrowed his eyes and looked at Nino skeptically. “Are you sure you should be telling them that?”

“What?”

“Never mind.”

Nino and Adrien turned the corner and made their way to the main hall, walking along the balcony that was above the courtyard. 

“Still, if you’re determined to try and save your precious club, you know I’m here for you,” Nino said. “As your vice president, I’m supposed to help you in any way I can.” 

“Thank you,” Adrien said, placing his free hand on Nino’s shoulder. “And, don’t worry. Even if I can’t fence this year, I can still train.”

Nino frowned. “Yeah, but who are we supposed to find to take your place?”

Adrien shrugged and sighed. They would probably have to see who showed up to their first practice tomorrow. A few of the people who had been involved before were good candidates, but he didn’t know if anyone would be willing to take on the pressure of winning a huge competition. 

“Maybe we just pray that a good opportunity shows itself,” Adrien said. 

A shout came from the courtyard down below and a whole group of people parted like the Red Sea, revealing one of the fourth-year students kneeling on the ground with his knees pulled up to his chest and the shortest, most petite girl Adrien had ever seen standing over him with a blank expression. 

Other students crowded around to look, either moving down to the center of the courtyard or rushing to the railings of the balcony. Luka, Adrien, and Nino all stood there together, watching in awe as the scene played out. The small girl who was at the center of everyone’s attention turned around and held out something to one of the other students behind her. 

Luka muttered a curse under his breath and rushed to the stairs, trying to get through the crowd of people that were standing around them. The girl’s back was still turned as the boy she had, supposedly, knocked down started getting up to his feet. A few of those around them shouted, telling the girl to watch out as the fourth-year pulled his arm back for a punch. 

The girl whirled around just in time, pulling her friend down with her as they dodged. Adrien couldn’t help but laugh at the frustration on the boy’s face as the girl kept dodging his attacks. Nino looked at him like he was crazy. 

“Oh, come on,” Adrien said. “You can’t pretend like this isn’t the best thing you’ve ever seen. She’s light on her feet.” 

Nino shook his head. “She’s the size of a garden gnome.” 

Many of the other students clearly thought it was the best thing they’d ever seen, too, egging on the boy and girl as he continued to try and attack her and she continued to dance around him. Luka somehow managed to finally push his way through the crowd of people, shouting at all of them to stop yelling for a fight. It took him a moment to get in between the two of them, having to dodge a few punches of his own, but finally managed to push them apart.

“Hey. Hey!” Luka shouted, pushing them towards opposite sides of the courtyard. “What’s going on here?!” 

“She kicked me in the shins and knocked me to the ground!” the boy shouted, pointing his index finger at the girl.

“He stole Alya’s camera and wouldn’t give it back,” the girl responded, sounding much more calm than her adversary. 

Luka looked down at the ground and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He turned to the boy first, exasperated. “Lucas, apologize for taking Alya’s camera.” 

“What?! But she-” Lucas grew furious and Adrien swore he steam coming out of the guy’s ears. “She kicked me!”

“Yes, and you were being an ass,” Luka said through clenched teeth. He quickly brought himself back down to his calm demeanor. “Just… apologize. Please.” 

Lucas gave the girl a scathing glare before turning to Alya, his anger not wavering. “Sorry for stealing your camera.” 

There was a pause, a tension growing in the air as everyone waited for what Alya would say next. Nino and Adrien both knew her, and she wasn’t the kind to forgive easily when people weren’t being sincere. 

“I accept your apology,” Alya said, folding her arms across her chest. The other students sighed in disappointment but quickly dispersed as the bell rang. 

Adrien couldn’t hear what was being said anymore as loud chattering voices picked up as the students made their way to their classrooms. Nino turned to Adrien. “Should we get going?”  
He was about to respond with yes, but Luka looked up at Adrien from below, holding a hand out to tell them to wait there. Adrien furrowed his eyebrows in confusion but decided to listen and stay put. Luka turned back to the girl, talking to her for a few more seconds before taking her by the arm and pulling her along towards the staircase. They headed towards Adrien and Nino, walking quickly. Luka pushed the girl out in front of him and smiled. 

“Adrien, Nino, meet Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” Luka said. 

Marinette looked confused, almost nervous, as she raised her hand and waved at them. “Hi,” she said. “Uh, nice to meet you?”

Adrien looked at Luka, confused, but the other boy just kept the same smile on his face as he spoke. “She seems like a pretty good fighter, right?”

Furrowing his brows, Adrien kept trying to search for Luka’s meaning. Why would he be introducing her to him? And what was the comment about-

_ Oh.  _

Adrien and Luka now shared the same mischievous gleam in their eyes, which seemed to scare both Marinette and Nino, as well as confuse the hell out of them.

“Marinette,” Adrien said, turning to her, “what do you think about joining the fencing club?” 


	3. Two

Adrien was about to head to the boy’s locker room to change for fencing practice before he realized that there was no need to do that. He wouldn’t be practicing at all, just watching and directing. Instead, he headed to the old gym by the back of the school where, hopefully, Nino was already getting set up for the day. 

The bell had already rung, so Adrien wouldn’t get in trouble for a messy uniform. He always tried to keep everything nice and tidy, but now he loosened the tie from around his neck and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. And if only he could get these damn slacks off he’d feel a lot better. 

Adrien wanted to be getting changed for practice. He didn’t want to just sit on the sidelines and watch. Nino had joked around about him pacing back and forth across the room, yelling and screaming at the other students like their old teachers used to do to them when they were younger, banging his walking stick on the ground for emphasis. Jokes were fun and all, but laughing about the situation didn’t alleviate it for him much at all. 

It was his own fault Adrien couldn’t fence this year. Complaining wouldn’t do anything to change that.

There were a few people lingering on the bleachers in the gym when Adrien arrived. Rose and Ivan had arrived early, which would mean that Sabrina wouldn’t be too far behind, and Kim would most definitely be late. Nino was, just as Adrien had expected, busy carrying supplies out of the storage closet. Adrien hurried over to him.

Nino started speaking without even looking up. “These haven’t seen the light of day all summer break,” he said. Adrien peeked inside the bag where the foils were kept separate from the rest of the equipment. “We should probably just start cleaning everything today.” 

Adrien nodded in agreement. “What about the masks?”

“One of them got smushed under some other stuff.” Nino frowned. “Don’t think the janitors were paying attention to where they threw their cleaning supplies in there.”

“But nothing is seriously damaged?” Adrien asked. Nino shook his head, sighing. Adrien let out a sigh as well. “Alright, I’ll take care of the mask. Have the others help you clean everything else. We’re losing a day of practice but I guess we’ll just have to deal with it.” 

Adrien started heading off towards the storage room, when Nino called out to him. “Adrien!” Turning back toward Nino, Adrien already knew what the question was going to be about. “Have you heard from her? Did she agree?”

A shrug was the only answer he could offer. “We’ll see.” 

\-----------------------------------

Marinette sat on the bench of the girl’s locker room, her gym bag sitting right next to her. She had packed an extra pair of clothes today, but whether or not she was going to actually change into them was still up for debate. 

Alya leaned up against one of the sinks on the other side of the room, scrolling through her phone. She had followed Marinette in here after class had ended and had waited this entire time, refusing to leave until Marinette made some sort of decision. Alya’s presence only made Marinette fidget in her seat uncomfortably. 

“You’re going to have to pick something,” Alya said, not even looking up from her phone. “You could always just join the newspaper with me. I need a friend there.”

“No offense,” Marinette said. “But the school newspaper kids kind of scare me.”

Alya pondered her words for a moment before shrugging. “Fair enough.” Her eyes widened and she looked up at Marinette. “Wait? Even me?”  
“If you keep standing around here like that then yes,” Marinette said. 

“Eh, you’ll get used to me,” Alya said. “Doesn’t matter if you want to be friends or not, you’re stuck with me now.”   


“I’m not saying I’m complaining,” Marinette laughed. 

Absentmindedly, Marinette began fiddling with the zipper of her gym bag. It could be just like ripping off a band-aid, and, if only she weren’t so indecisive, this could have been over with minutes ago. The only sound of the room now was Marinette zipping and unzipping her bag as she bit her bottom lip in contemplation. 

Alya sighed, setting down her phone on the counter next to her. “Okay,” She said. “Let’s think this through. You need an extracurricular, you haven’t looked into any others, and the president of the fencing club asked- well, kind of begged you- to join. Why aren’t you just saying yes?”

“I- Well, I-”

“It seems to me like stabbing people with swords would be right up your alley,” Alya said.

“I’m pretty sure there’s no stabbing involved,” Marinette said. “And they’re not swords. They’re called fencing foils.” 

“See, you’re already pretty in the know with this stuff.” Alya giggled, causing Marinette’s frown to deepen. Alya stopped laughing as soon as she saw Marinette’s expression didn’t change. She put on a serious expression, taking a seat on the bench next to Marinette. “Are you sure there’s not any other reason why you’re freaking out about this?”  
Marinette tried not to let the answer show on her face, looking down at her hands to avoid Alya’s gaze. 

“I know we just met yesterday, but I hope you can trust me,” Alya said. “I want to be good friends, so I’ll be here for you. Hell, I’ve only known you for a little more than 24 hours and I’d die for you.”

They both couldn’t help but smile and laugh at that. 

In all honesty, Marinette did feel comfortable enough to open up to Alya. Her new friend seemed like a genuinely nice person. But it wasn’t that she was scared to tell her what the real problem was. It was just that she was really, really embarrassed to divulge something she was determined to leave in the past. Marinette cringed at the thought of it.

“Well, I-”

Marinette was just trying to stutter through the same sentence again. She felt like she had barely been able to speak since yesterday morning. 

_ “Adrien Agreste, President of the Fencing Club,” he had said, holding out his hand to her. His handshake was firm. “So, what do you say? Want to be the newest member of our team?” _

She had recognized that name almost instantly. Adrien. His face was less round and his clothes weren’t dirty from being pushed down into the mud, but that blond hair- That was all it took to be sure that she recognized him. 

_ “I hope we meet again someday!”  _

Marinette saw that little, blond boy being dragged away by an adult, waving back at her as she stood with the umbrella he had given her. 

_ The umbrella you still have,  _ Marinette thought, cringing at herself again. 

She tried to push that piece of memory out of her mind before she could be annoyed and embarrassed by her younger self anymore. 

That little boy had been right. They did meet again, but something about him didn’t seem the same. Something was very different. 

Curiosity could be a great thing, but for her, it was a downfall. And Marinette wanted to know what she was seeing in him, and if he remembered her, too. 

“It’s nothing,” Marinette said, standing to her feet and heading toward one of the bathroom stalls, gym bag in hand. “You’re right, there’s nothing holding me back from doing this.” 

Once the stall door was closed behind her, Marinette leaned up against the metal walls. Her forehead rested against the cool surface and as quietly as possible she pounded her fists on the wall. Even after having made a decision, Marinette still felt conflicted. It was entirely about another issue now, but the same dark pit in her stomach hadn’t closed up, and she felt sicker and sicker every second. 

She gave herself a few minutes to calm down while she changed but eventually walked out of the bathroom stall with a smile on her face again. Marinette slung the gym bag over her shoulder and waved at Alya as she started heading toward the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow!”

“Try not to get stabbed,” Alya called back at her.

Marinette sighed as the bathroom door swung shut behind her.  _ Depending on how this goes, that might be preferable. _

\-----------------------------------------

Adrien and Nino stood on the opposite side of the half-court line, Kim, Ivan, Sabrina, and Rose all lined up in front of them. Their freshly cleaned foils in hand, they stood at attention like a group of soldiers. Adrien leaned closer to Nino, speaking in a whispering voice. “We didn’t get any new members?”   


“Uh…” Nino looked around the room, avoiding Adrien’s gaze. “No.”   


“You didn’t-” Adrien sighed. “You didn’t advertise the club to new members?”

Nino laughed nervously. “Oops?”

“Okay,” Adrien said, clapping his hand on Nino’s back as he stepped forward. “Let’s get started, shall we? We can start reviewing form since we’ve had a break all summer. Nino will demonstrate for me and-”   


The door to the gym flung open, the sound echoing throughout the room. Adrien turned around. He almost gasped in surprise at the sight of Marinette jogging through the door. She tossed her gym bag toward the bleachers without even stopping and rushed to take a spot in line with the other club members. 

Marinette seemed out of breath, but she stood with her hands clasped in front of her and a smile on her face. The other club members looked at her curiously while Marinette regained her composure. With a powerful breath of air, she blew her bangs out of her face. “Sorry I’m late.”

Rose leaned forward in the line, waving down at Marinette with a smile, which she returned. 

Adrien cleared his throat. “Alright then,” he said, shaking his head. “Why don’t you all go over form yourselves and… Nino and I will show Marinette the basics.” 

The others whispered amongst each other as they started to walk towards the other side of the room. Adrien saw their backward glances, and he cleared his throat trying to remain composed instead of what he wanted to do, which was halfway between jumping so high he could touch the ceiling and lying face down on the ground until he became one with the floor. Success or failure was now entirely in his hands. 

Adrien might lose everything if this didn’t work out.

Marinette was rocking back and forth on her feet, her eyes looking everywhere but at him and Nino. She seemed to be biting the inside of her mouth. Nino was looking at him too, out of the corner of his eye, his pupils flickering back and forth between him and Marinette. They seemed to be waiting for something. Adrien couldn’t tell what they had been waiting for-

Nino cleared his throat, elbowing Adrien lightly in the ribs, and nodding toward Marinette, who was still continuing to stand there politely. Adrien had to blink a few times before he finally caught on.

Him. They were waiting for  _ him. _

“Oh, um- Yeah. Positions. Starting positions.” Adrien scratched the back of his neck with his free hand as Nino took his place on the mat. Marinette slowly walked over to the opposite side. 

Nino was already standing with his knees apart and his legs bent and Marinette moved to try and copy his stance. 

“Feet a little wider,” Adrien said. Marinette nodded and followed his directions. Watching her, he could tell that she was going to be a natural at this. Marinette was evenly balanced, putting herself in the position to move either way at any moment. Both Nino and Marinette raised their weapons. She was learning quickly just by copying someone else, but still would need correction. “You need to relax your wrist a little more.”   


Adrien was already walking over to her, reaching out and moving her arm to his liking without even thinking. Marinette looked over her shoulder at him. She caught his eye after a moment, and Adrien became aware of his fingers wrapped around her forearm. He let go immediately, dropping his arm down to his side while Marinette’s stayed perfectly where he had positioned it. 

“Sorry,” Adrien said. “Should have asked first.” 

“Uh,” Marinette’s eyes glanced around the room. “It’s fine.” 

He could tell it was taking him a little while to respond at that point, and Nino filled the silence for him. “Should we try a few basic attacks?”

“Works for me,” Marinette said, turning her attention to Nino.

Adrien remained frozen in place, watching as Nino took over and started explaining the basics to her. Already, he felt like he was failing at his job. Whatever that may be. 

By the time practice was over, Nino had done much more in teaching Marinette than he had. Adrien ended up leaving the two altogether and heading over with the other students, watching and instructing them instead. He felt much more confident doing that. For some reason, Marinette just… intimidated him.

The others were saying their goodbyes, picking up their bags, and walking out the door after the mats and other supplies had been put away. Adrien sat on the bleachers, watching from across the room as Nino and Marinette were still talking. They had wrapped up practice as well, they just hadn’t left yet. 

It’s not like Adrien couldn’t leave, he didn’t have to lock up the gym or anything, he just felt stuck there watching them. 

Nino pulled out his phone and handed it to Marinette. She started typing, probably putting in her contact information, saying something that Nino laughed at. Adrien’s hand clenched around the handle of his walking stick, and finally forced himself to stand up and start walking over there. 

“Hey, man,” Nino said, waving at him as he approached. “We’re just setting up some time to practice some more outside. Maybe you want to tag along?”   


The way Nino was looking at him said that it wasn’t really a question. Adrien just nodded in response. 

“Great, then, I have to get going,” Nino said, turning back to Marinette. “Let me know when you’re free and I’ll see you around.”  
“Perfect,” Marinette answered. 

Nino started heading towards the door before anything else could be said, looking down at his phone. Adrien felt a buzz in his pocket and pulled out his own phone, looking at the message that had just been sent to him.

_ Don’t just stand there like an idiot. _

Adrien scoffed, craning his neck to look at Nino. His friend waved his hand without even turning around and headed out the door. 

“Are you heading out?” Marinette asked. 

Adrien whipped his head back toward her. “Hm, what? Yeah. Yeah, heading out now.” 

“Okay,” Marinette said. She was holding her bag by the handles in front of her, swaying back and forth on her feet.

Adrien cleared his throat, tapping the walking stick a few times on the ground as he tried to get the words in his head out of his mouth. “Do you- do you want to walk with me?”

Marinette’s eyes lit up and a smile appeared on her face. “Yeah,” she said. “Yeah. Sounds nice.” 

Unsure of what to say, Adrien found himself letting out a small laugh without meaning to, using his head to gesture toward the door. Marinette was walking with him, matching his slower pace. She almost seemed just as nervous as he was, frequently looking away and focusing her attention on some distant corner. But every so often, she’d look back at him, Adrien could see it out of the corner of his eye, and it was almost like she was noticing something new about him every time that she did.

“You seem like a really great teacher,” Marinette said. The sudden lack of silence made him almost shiver. “Thank you for inviting me to join. I’m really looking forward to learning something new.” 

“Are you sure you didn’t just agree because Luka threatened you with after-school detention for beating that guy up if you didn’t?” Adrien asked.

“I hit him once,” Marinette said. “Once. And for good reason. Plus, I’m not a violent person by nature.” 

“I find that hard to believe,” Adrien laughed. “From what I’ve seen of you so far, I wouldn’t be surprised if you could pummel me into the ground.”   


“I wouldn’t though,” Marinette said. “Only if you gave me a reason to.”   


“I’ll try not to, then” Adrien responded. He laughed again and shot her a wink and all of the sudden Marinette was looking away from him again. Her gaze was now focused on the floor and she fell completely silent again. Adrien cleared his throat. “Did- did Nino tell you why we invited you to join?”

Marinette looked up at him confused, shaking her head. “No. Was there a reason?”

“Well,” Adrien said, scratching the back of his neck. “The club is kind of in danger of shutting down. Luka told us that if we can’t get any of the team members to win a medal at nationals this year, they won’t let us continue next year. And, usually, that would kind of be on me, but…” 

Both of their eyes drifted down to the stick Adrien was carrying in his left hand. 

“Soooo,” Marinette drawled. “You want me to try and win a national competition? Don’t you have anyone better? Maybe someone who has actually fenced before?”

“Well…” Adrien furrowed his brows. “Rose and Sabrina, they’re skilled but they’re in it for fun, so they don’t compete. Kim is more focused on swim practice but he still participates because he knows we need the numbers. Ivan joined halfway through last year and can only come to half the practices because of his job outside of school. Nino… knows he couldn’t place. Even if he doesn’t want to admit it.” 

Marinette seemed to be biting the inside of her cheek. “In other words, I’m your only hope?”

“Yes, Obi Wan Kenobi,” Adrien said nodding. “You’re my only hope.” 

“Still,” Marinette said. “I’m just a beginner.”   


“You’re also kind of a natural,” Adrien said. “I watched you all practice. You’ve got some real skills.” 

“Well, that comes from the years of  _ wushu _ training my parents put me through,” Marinette said. “I’m athletic but I wouldn’t say I’m a natural.”

“So, you’re only a little bit humble?” Adrien asked. Marinette assumed an air of mock offense but the two ended up laughing together. When the laughter died down, Adrien realized that she still hadn’t given an answer. “If you don’t want to compete, that’s totally fine. I- I don’t want to put that kind of pressure on someone.” 

Marinette slowed to a stop beside him as they reached the front of the school. She turned on her heel, facing him completely, a determined look appearing on her face. “You know what,” she said. “I could use a good challenge.” 

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr @marvelousmsmol


End file.
